Bob and Heather in Mexico

Day 2

What a restless night – cheap hotels are not quiet ones. I wake up right at the first blush of light in the east. Heather is still sound asleep, so I throw a swimsuit on and walk to the beach. Fantastic sunrise starting. I'm surprised at how big the waves are – last year, it was as smooth as a pool. After a quick swim, I walk into town to watch it wake up. Shop owners are cleaning their sidewalk, big sacks of oranges are being delivered, a couple of small Cafes are coming to life. Just a handful of early risers are out.



I walk back to the hotel after about an hour, and Heather is up and about. We agree to go for a little run on the beach. We head north about 10 minutes – tough running with this powdery sand. We pass by the webcam I've been watching for so many weeks, so we stop and wave to everyone watching it at 7am in the morning. We turn around and head back right as the sun is fully up, probably in the high 70s for temp. Let's call it a 2 mile run, probably a bit less. Heather and I go for a little swim, marveling at how clear and green the water is. It must be the sand that puts the green tint in the water.

Head back to the hotel, shower, dress, and find a cafe on 5th. Great spot, right on the street, good food, although I now remember that mango tastes rotten.





Walk back along 5th to look for an Internet cafe since our cell phone isn't working. Head west into town, and find a Walmart about 3 blocks. Must have been built in the last year. We go in to see what a Mexican Walmart looks like, and are surprised at how different it really looks. I would have bet money that it would have been organized like every other Walmart I've seen, but I was wrong.

Walk back to 5th, buy a six pack of Sol (the local beer) at a super mini, change in our hotel room and head to the beach. We find a couple of nice beach chairs and hang out for quite a while. Lots of good people watching, including this European dude that is 300 plus in a tiny speedo. I took the picture to prove it.



I do like his moxie. The water is as pretty as ever, with many many shades of blue and green. I spend the next couple of hours drinking through my Sol, and fully feeling the effects of such. Everything about the moment seems perfect – water lapping at my feet, mayan music playing in the background, 3 or 4 languages being spoken around me. Heather is busy working on her tan and a good book. I have no idea what time it is, nor do I care. The coral sand begs me to wiggle my feet into it. Ever since we found this place last year, I've been thinking about the sand.








After several hours of beach time, we decide to walk up to the webcam. We find an Internet cafe on the north side of 5th ave, and send a few emails to let everyone know when we'll be in front of the camera. 7 pesos for 20 minutes of Internet use, with 5 of those minutes fumbling with the different layout of the Mexican keyboard. We head north about ½ a mile, then swing beachward until we arrive at the webcam about ½ hour before our scheduled time. The beach in this part of town is much nicer than the one we just spent time on – wide sand and gentle waves. We wade out about 100 yards before the water is above our head. We dry off, then wave and kiss in front of the webcam at our appointed time. Hopefully someone got a screenshot. The plan was to get frisky in front of the camea, but due to my cell phone not working and me not planning well, we had the kids watching at the same time. Oh well.





We head back into town, and stop for Heather's daily Haagan Daas. We stop into a pharmacia and pick up some lotion and more sunscreen – both of us are pretty red from the day. Lots of cruise ship people in town tonight, identifiable by their sheer volume and matching bracelets. We get off of 5th, as vendors raise their prices when the cruise ships are in town. Luckily Playa doesn't have a dock (yet), so the few that come are ferried over from Cozumel. You can look across the sea and see the taller buildings of Cozumel, so naturally one can also see the cruise ships docked there, and I've seen no less than 3 at all times.







We wander west into town and find a place to eat called Dr. Taco. I know I'm going to like this place, because it's small, the menu is simple, it's mostly locals, and no one speaks English. I get shrimp tacos, Heather chicken. We watch the obviously stoned couple in the next booth. Tacos are damn, damn good. Beer is 15 pesos. Total bill for our dinner is 110 pesos. I'm in love.





After dinner, we head back to 5th to watch people. We get some drinks at a place with good outdoor seating, but the drinks are just OK and a bit overpriced. We finish up and move to a bar a block away with just as good of a location and better drinks. I try a drink I've seen others having called a Mojito – lime, rum, sugar and lots of mint leaves. Delicious. We spend the evening watching:

• Middle aged dude with sandals and black socks

• Middle aged women wearing all kinds of cloths that do a poor job of covering things that should be covered.

• Spring break girls wearing all kinds of clothes that do a great job of not covering things that shouldn't be covered.

• At least half a dozen mariachi bands asking if we want a song.

• Dude with a real parrot on his shoulder, going for the pirate look.

Call it a night and head back to the hotel. I think we're more sunburnt that we initially thought.

posted by Bob @ 1:41 PM